Snytjie

Hi Garf, Apart from being injury free, are there any explicit indicators that the minimalist shoes made the difference and not merely the training? For example, did you follow the same sort of training regime/philosophy but saw more gains than in previous periods? I've been thinking a lot about going with less offset. I overpronate and use specific shoes for that, but have never had any injuries in 3 years of training. For the past 18 months or so I concentrated on form to promote front foot striking. I walk/run on the beach a few times weekly, and I can actually see my foot imprints change. My motivation for changing over would be solely to gain speed. I know it is a long process and don't want to make the investment if I'm not sure about the effectiveness and that my injury risk would still stay low.

My arse does not like saddles. I'm comfortable on an Adamo Prologue. Some of the best money I've spent (apart from a dishwasher, corrective eye surgery and two Toyota's that is...)

Great advice. You can be swamped by all the perspectives out there. Buy Joe Friel's Triathlete's Training Bible and read/study it. You will be skilled enough after that to build up your own personal training program(s).

The principal is that Garmin or similar devices are not manufactured in SA. Therefore, no discouragement to buy from overseas because you do the local economy no harm. Clothes on the other hand are manufactured locally and contributes to jobs/the economy. Therefore you are discouraged to buy from overseas by high taxes... It is a generalization which negatively affects you if you want to buy a clothing item which you cannot find in SA, but I suppose it does help the local situation.

I spoke to the Polar guys at the Argus expo about it. He even let feel up one unit... It still had a few bugs in the software that were getting sorted out. The particular rep also reckoned it would be released at around R6500 and somewhere towards mid-2014. To me this isn't very inspiring: you are flaunting an unfinished product with existing problems at a very expensive and speculative price. Why not finish and test the thing properly before putting out on show? Most amateur athletes who would employ this to its fullest capacity would have to think very carefully before they spend that kind of money - I think. The current way they introduce this does not inspire trust in me. Why would they gamble on something is clearly isn't very stable yet? I certainly won't.

What muggings?

No sweat for me, in fact, it was super smooth. Entered in the middle, went straight through and into my holding pen. I don't know if my 9:44 start time made a difference. I found all organizing on the day exceptional.

I agree. If Richard can close that swim gap he will obviously stay with the leaders and seriously challenge for the win. Do you think Henry can go sub-30 on the run?

Hi, Not sure I fully understand what you mean. Do you mean that Murray was 45s behind the Brownlees in London last year? And Schoeman was in front with them? If so, Murray was a full minute behind Jonathan Brownlee. They had the same bike split (+Gomez), while Murray was then 50s slower on the run. His deficit in my opinion is the one minute on the swim + the extra effort to try and catch up on the bike (and maybe letting go a little in the final stretch as he knows he's not going to catch them). If he exits the swim with them I think he'll give them some serious competition. I don't see Henry running with the Brownlees, Gomez and/or Murray.

Looking at the results I think 11Global has their work cut out to keep their race in CT. There were only 69 male entrants to the Olympic distance this year compared to 120 last year...

Results: http://www.triathlon...ican_cup/264835 So Murray outran them all in the end. He'll still have to up the swim if he wants to challenge the top ITU athletes.

I didn't see the end as we were warming up, but Murray was still 2 min or so behind the front swimmers as was the case during the whole of 2013. In an Olympic race that translates to 5 min behind the likes of Gomez and the Brownlees, so not much chance for catching up...

So, a blistering hot morning. All and all I actually had fun. I think it is mostly because of the swim which leaves you in no doubt that you are in the ocean. Usual bike with a few ocean views and a lot of bumps. Run, well... boring but quite a challenge due to the heat. I can't say that I'm sorry that I went. Only one major and one smaller complaint: for the second year running they ran out of water on the run course (my 2nd lap). Completely rubbish. Do you not listen/learn from all the complaints last year? Also, again a 45 min late start, which doesn't help with the heat. Wake up people. If I was doing offroad tri's, I wouldn't do this at all and rather go for Xterra. But since I'm not it was a morning well spent...

Heita, So I envisioned a (my first serious) tri season as consisting of 3 x 70.3s and a few shorter ones in between. I did Jailbreak and EL, but work/family pressures make it impossible to go to Midmar. Still, I'm not ready to just let the season run out...so I'm thinking of doing my first marathon before getting to winter. I've had a look around, and the only marathon in the WC is the Outeniqwa on 26 April. After that - nothing. That leaves me with 2 and a half months to progress from a 70.3 level (having done 24k run at Jailbreak) to a stand alone marathon. I'm not blessed with heaps of natural athletic ability, and the worst discipline for me is definitely running. I certainly have to be weary of overdoing ****. So I'm wondering if it is responsible to take this curve upwards? I worked out a little training program, and with a 7.5% increase over a 10-day cycle I get to a cycle total running of 39k (excl long run), ten days before the marathon, and a long run that cycle of 35k. Each cycle also includes 100k of biking. Do you think it is too much? What are your experiences of 'upgrading' from 70.3 level to 42k of running?

I haven't done the Argus because it looked too congested to me, plus I train on the route all the time. Then got told by a mate that I'm stupid and that its all about the vibe. I entered. Unfortunately the seeding races in the WC interfered with my tri schedule and now I'm stuck in group OA, 'leaving' at 9:45. Just this afternoon I checked out the substitution regime as I'm really not looking forward riding behind 90% of the field, but the effort/charges is just not worth it. Guess it is going to be a loooooong day with plenty of time to suck in "the vibe"....

Thanks. That is the day before 11Global so I'll pass.

Info on that swim?

"Dear Mr ...... Thank you for your enquiry regarding your Merrell Finishers shirt at this years Ironman 70.3 event. I am terribly sorry that you are not happy with the quality of the T-shirt you received at this years event, your comments have been noted. Please be advised that we worked very closely with Ironman in which the split between mens and ladies tee’s in the correct sizes were produced according to the final number of entrants and I do apologise if you did not receive your correct size. The T shirt received is made from 100% Cotton with a weight of 180gms, which is of a far higher quality than other cotton tee’s which normally weigh in at 140gms to 160gms. With the upcoming Ironman 10 year finishers shirt, we have used the highest quality, design and fit and we are already working on a new design and fabric for the 2015 Ironman 70.3 event. Kind Regards Gustav Nefdt.

Thanks Ricky, No, I didn't replace the O0rings. I wondered if it had an impact, but why leak after four months? I did three 1.6km ocean swims alone with it after changing the battery, no problem. Possibly corrosion?

So, I warm-up in EL, and while waiting to go into the holding pen I notice that my watch has gone into some stopwatch mode (I had it on "Other Sport" just to monitor my HR during the warm up and wait). It also become completely unresponsive, i.e. none of the buttons has an effect on the stopwatch/mode. I ran around looking for someone with a similar watch who might be able to help, and two people confirmed that the "back" button should've changed the operation. I frantically ran to the tents to get a coin, open the thing and take out the battery. After I replaced it, the watch is dead and I race without any info (after almost missing my wave). FFS. My wife later checks the watch and sees that it is trying to come to life, but now has droplets under the screen. I did wipe my hands when replacing the battery so I'm pretty sure it wasn't me. It seems that it leaked during the warm up. I changed the battery some 4 months ago and had 6-8 open water swims and who knows how many bath/showers/swims with it, no problem. The watch is not under warranty anymore. FFS. I was eyeing the new Polar with integrated GPS about to come out, but now I'm feeling a little weak in the stomach. What are your thoughts on this? Has anyone had similar experiences with the RCX5/same level Polar watches? Disclaimer: I'm not looking for the anecdotal "Polar is shyte Garmin rules" type of information. Only real occasions please.

I already have toilet paper with little puppies on it, and my domestic only has a girl FOR WHICH THERE IS NO SPECIFIC SHIRT. Stop playing with my emotions. Boeta is die bliksem in.

Good day, I’d like to add my voice to those who are not satisfied with the quality of the finisher’s T-shirt made available at the race last weekend. The print work lacks creativity, is of low quality and after one wash it already looks old. In addition, the fact that there were no ladies-specific shirt is unacceptable. The shirt creates the idea that it was added as an afterthought with as little as possible attention to detail. It does not reflect the high quality and standards experienced by us athletes in the other race elements. I’ve never seen Merrell products of such low quality either. I, for one, am not someone walking around in finishers T-shirts. I’m objecting to the quality because I see it as a waste of money. It would’ve been far better to offer proper quality shirts for sale, while giving nutrition or the opportunity to download some photos for free in the place of the current shirt. At least one can use that. Few people will wear these shirts. Otherwise, thank you for a great race. Regards,

The quality of the T-shirt is important. I paid for it. I don't want something to wipe the floor with. If they cannot provide a proper shirt, then leave it out and put 10 x GU gels in its place. Or leave the shirt and give me the option of downloading 2 x pictures for free. Point is the shirt is a waste of (my) money.

Did it last year and agree with the sentiment of it being overpriced. I'm going to do it again this year solely for the comparative value as this would be the first time that I race the same course.

Don't you want to tell us a bit more about how that happened? The clip and Tim Noakes' book both contain vital information, but when looked at in isolation it is often difficult to understand what best practice is.